Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has all but given up on a group designed to plan military aid shipments to Ukraine, according to The New York Times.
President Donald Trump’s defense chief decided to skip a flight to Brussels, Belgium, where leaders from around 50 nations gathered Friday to plan aid consignments to Kyiv as part of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s 27th meeting. Instead, according to The New York Times, he dialed in to the meeting from the U.S.
The coalition was created by former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden Administration. Hegseth’s snub marks the first time in the assembly’s three-year history that the Defense Department chief has not been physically present. His absence also comes amid an apparent eastward shift from the Trump Administration, closer to the Kremlin and Russia.
This is evidenced by the fact that as the meeting was taking place, top Trump official Steve Witkoff—who recently admitted that he may have been duped by Hamas during peace talks—arrived in St. Petersburg for a sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media, citing the Kremlin.
Hegseth, meanwhile, previously acquiesced control of the meetings to Britain in February. The Pentagon reportedly referred several media requests from the Times to the British Ministry of Defense—who apparently didn’t reply at all. The Daily Beast has contacted both for comment.
America’s nonchalant approach to the war in Ukraine flies in the face of the United Kingdom’s. At the meeting in Brussels Friday, the country’s defense chief John Healey pledged the equivalent of $590 million in military support to Ukraine “to put them in the strongest position to secure a lasting peace.”
The U.S. says is open to giving military aid to Ukraine, for a price. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his country would fork out for aid, including Patriot missile systems vital for stopping Russian airstrikes.
“Regarding the additional package, we want and we are ready, and we have handed over to the American side a large package that we want to buy. We want to buy it in one form or another. This is our format, how we will pay for it. And we did not ask for the future package for free,” Zelensky said. He added that the country would find the necessary $30-50 billion to pay for the air defense system.
Last Friday, an attack on Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih killed at least 19 people, including nine children.
After the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, co-chaired by Germany, Britain’s Healey noted that “today is one month to the day in which Russia rejected President Trump’s peace settlement.”
“Putin said he wanted peace, but he rejected a full ceasefire. Putin said he wanted peace, but he continues to drag his feet and delay negotiations. Putin said he wanted peace, but his forces continue to fire on Ukraine, military and civilian targets alike,” he added.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a news conference after the event: “We will ensure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support. Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting, and we will support it.”
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